ReWritten
by Angel's Storm
Summary: If you were to become God what would you do? Would you fix everything wrong with the world? Would you destroy it and begin anew? Or would you do something different? In the bottom of a cave, in a room filled with computers and code, a decision was made. A decision made by a small group of undead souls that altered life itself. *I do not own Angel Beats or any respective songs.*
1. Chapter One: Playing God

**Note from the Author!**

**Hello everyone, it's been a while hasn't it? I've been pretty busy doing stuff for school and other stuff, which in fact is why this story was written in the first place. Sometime after writing Chapter 2 of TWC, I got into anime. Eventually my Avid show watching led me to Angel Beats. Let me just say- SADDEST-ENDING-EVER. The only other thing that could have somewhat compared was the ending of Twilight Princess, and even THAT didn't bring me to Tears… So instead of just thinking how sad the ending was, I did what I do best, change it! Thus ReWritten was born! I'll be trying to make the story with ALL the characters in mind, so expect some character development for some of the "underappreciated" SSS members. Hope you like it!**

* * *

If you were to become God what would you do? Would you fix everything wrong with the world? Would you destroy it and begin anew? Or would you do something different? In the bottom of a cave, in a room filled with computers and code, a decision was made. A decision made by a small group of undead souls that altered life itself.

* * *

**-{Chapter one: Playing God}-**

"You could change the world based on your will."

The computers on either sides of the room hummed at a steady pace. In one end of the room stood a pale figure, the origin of the voice. A person, who was not a person, not made of flesh and bone but of ones and zeros. An AI. He sat completely emotionless. At the other end of the room stood a girl. She was 17 years old, but was really much older that. Her face, ageless. Her past, horrifying. Her soul, undying. This girl was Nakamura Yuri, known as Yurippe by her friends. This girl was also the leader of the organization The Underworld Battlefront, also known as the SSS. She was one of the first to enter the limbo known as the Afterlife School, and she was one of the key members who decided its' fate.

"What would I do after I change it?" Yurippe said to the AI, slowly lowering the gun she held in her hands.

"You could choose the path _he_ didn't."

_He. He _was the one who had started the madness. It was _he_ who changed the code. He was the one who changed the world for the first time. Who was _he_?

He was simply known as The Programmer.

The Programmer was not God, but he was the first to play the part.

"Are you saying that I could become God?"

"Basically, yes" replied the AI, his voice empty and emotionless.

"And I could make this world an eternal paradise?"

"He rejected that but I won't"

Yurippe was about to tell the AI to go to hell, when a voice rang out from the back of the room.

"The bug, can it be put back in?"

Yurippe swiveled her head towards the voice. It was Otonashi!

Yuzuru Otonashi, a crucial component in Limbo. He had been intent on helping people for much of his life. Death did not change this. He was determined to help everyone achieve fulfillment, along with another one of his friends. He would be the one that lit the spark of creation.

"Yes, it can," replied the AI, "Although doing this would certainly cause many things to occur and change in the current system".

"Otonashi… you can't seriously be thinking…" said Yurippe with a hint of worry in her voice

"About becoming God? No, of course not! The world would fall apart in minutes if I was God!" replied Otonashi with a chuckle moving toward Yurippe. "I'm just thinking we could alter the program just a bit, just a tiny bit! And then we could destroy the computers."

"But what about the fulfillment of the other SSS members? If we changed the code, they wouldn't be able to pass on!"

"Actually that is not true. According to the proposed change, the code would still allow a person to pass on if they wished." Replied the AI.

"But-" Yurippe began.

"I'm not trying to be God," Otonashi said, his voice becoming quieter, "I'm just trying to make everyone's lives happier, if you had just become happy with your life, would you want it to be stripped away from you?"

Yurippe said nothing.

"Yurippe… I don't want everything to be stripped away… I don't want to lose anyone… I've become closer with everyone here, I don't want to lose that, we're a family," Otonashi said with a sigh, "I don't know, maybe I'm being selfish…"

"You're not," said Yurippe, "You just trying to help everyone, like always. I don't want to lose our family either… Let's make the changes."

"Otonashi, I must warn you that changing the code to create your desired output would cause a world reset among… other things to change"

"A reset?"

"Yes, this would mean that all things that were created in this world after its creation would disappear. This would include items such as weapons and tools that were created. It would be as if the world was entirely new. This computer lab would also subsequently be destroyed, as would I, making any further changes impossible."

"That's not too much of an issue, we can always just recreate the stuff," Said Yurippe, her voice filled with optimism, "Can you please add the code in?"

"Unfortunately I am unable to; my creator has forbidden me to change the code myself. I am only able to write and run tasks he explicitly gave to me."

"Damn it! How the hell are we supposed to make the changes if we have no idea what we're doing?" Otonashi said, exasperated.

"May I be of assistance?" said a voice from the back of the room, startling both Otonashi and Yurippe.

"Kanade! Are you ok? What happened to the shadows?"

Kanade Tachibana, a.k.a. Angel. Another pioneer in the Afterlife School, she made it her ultimate goal to help the other students move on to a new life. However this had taken a good toll on her emotions, as many of her friends had been ripped away from her, forcing her become emotionless and reserved. Yuzuru was one of the first people to trust her in a long time, which meant the world to her. She was so dedicated, that she would follow him to the ends of the world if he asked.

"I am fine. The shadows have been destroyed, although I feared that more would come, so I came to alert you." said Kanade, her voice monotone.

"You know how to change the program?" asked Yurippe.

"Yes, the code used is the same as the code used in the Angel Player program that I used to create my abilities. I should be able to change the code to allow everyone to stay here."

"But Kanade, I thought you wanted everyone to move on?" Otonashi expressed with a confused expression.

"I wanted everyone to be fulfilled, and to live a happy life. The fact that a person was ripped away was a sad side effect of this." Kanade's voice became more and more sorrowful as she spoke.

"I've lost many friends due to obliteration and I don't want to lose anyone else either…"

Otonashi walked over to Kanade and hugged her tightly. "Don't worry, you won't." His voice was full of empathy.

"Alright, I'll change it. Thank you Yuzuru." said Kanade.

"While I am unable to help directly, I am able to provide assistance to you writing the code."

Kanade walked over to the console and began to type. "What exactly, do you want to be put in?"

Otonashi began to list off what needed to be added and removed

She wrote line after line of code, the AI saying things like, "Make sure to write this command here," or, "Don't forget the decimal here". Naoi and Hinata soon came into the room to see what was taking so long. Otonashi quickly explained the situation to them. "So, basically you're going to become God?" said Naoi quizzically.

"No Naoi, as I've explained MULTIPLE times, the computers would be destroyed soon after the reset, making changes the code impossible," replied Otonashi with a sigh.

"So what I'm hearing is that I'll still be God?"

Otonashi just sighed and gave up talking to the student council vice president. "Hinata, any questions you have about the plan?"

"Just one," Hinata said in a hushed voice. "W-Would it be possible to bring Yui back?"

The room fell silent, the only sound heard was the constant hum of the computers on the sides of the room.

"WHAT?!" exclaimed Yurippe, breaking the silence.

"Hinata… I don't think-"Otonashi began.

"Sorry…" Hinata interjected, his voice quivering, "I just got excited for a second… I thought maybe that Yui and I could… never mind… it was stupid of me to think…"

"Yes," said the AI with his emotionless stare, "It is possible to make that occur. Quite vital in fact if you wish to recreate the world."

Everyone in the room froze.

"WHAT!?" exclaimed Yurippe, breaking the silence once again, "HOW IS THAT POSSIBLE! THE'VE BEEN OBLITERATED, REINCARNATED! WHATEVER! THEY'RE GONE!"

"Calm down. Yes the person known as Yui can be brought back, as with many other members of your group including the individual known as Iwasawa. It is possible to bring a soul back to this world if the removal has been within a set period of time. During this time frame, the soul has not yet been reincarnated is waiting to be reborn. The best way to explain it is what has occurred between the users known as Otonashi and Kanade. While Otonashi had died months before Kanade, she showed up in the world long before Otonashi." Otonashi gave Kanade a puzzled look and which was returned by a look saying _I'll explain later_. The AI continued, "However this can only be executed when the program is reset. It can only be done once."

"Yui… Iwasawa… Gildemo… The rest of the SSS… They can all be brought back?" said Yurippe, a slight quiver to her voice.

"Yes, they can." replied the AI apathetically.

"But, they made the choice to move on… would we feel right pulling them back here?" said Otonashi.

There was no easy answer to that question. Most of the SSS members had finally become at peace. Would it feel right to take that away?

"Many of the SSS were forced to move on due to the fear of the shadows and being turned into NPC's anyway, they weren't exactly completely ready to move on" Naoi pointed out "It's just as well we give them the choice again. The code about the creepy shadow thingies is being cut out right?"

"Yes, I have just finished removing that section of the code." said Kanade.

"Good," Naoi sighed, "I'll be having nightmares about those things for weeks!"

"But what about Yui and Iwasawa? They WERE ready to move on," said Yurippe "Yui, I could understand would want to come back, but Iwasawa… I just don't know…"

"Just so you know, if you do choose to bring people back, it will have to be everyone. You cannot explicitly state specific people" reported the AI.

Otonashi sighed and paused for a moment before speaking.

"We have to bring them back. It isn't fair for everyone to have to leave just because one person may or may not want to stay. She can always move on again if she wants to."

"That seems to be the best course of action," stated Kanade, "shall I add the code?"

"Yes, write it in." Yurippe said with a sigh, "Anything else we need to know Mr. AI?"

"Yes there is one other small thing I forgot to mention" Said the AI.

"You seem to be forgetting to tell us a lot of things!" Hinata said with more than a hint of irritation in his voice.

Ignoring Hinata's comment, the AI stated in his monotone voice, "The reset of the world would also reset the NPC's and return any souls changed into NPCs by the shadow program back to their original state.

_So that would mean Takamatsu back to himself again_, Yurippe thought, _but it would also mean…_

"My creator, the programmer, would return," The AI said reading Yurippe's thoughts, "and no doubt he would be angry with you for altering his program."

Once again the room fell silent. This time Otonashi broke the silence.

"Too bad for him. He gave up his right to the code and to the world when he chose to become an NPC. Kanade is the program almost completed?" said Otonashi.

"The Eden code is almost complete."

"Eden code?" Otonashi questioned, "Where did you get that name from?"

"We're basically creating Eden, aren't we? Would you like me to change it?" asked Kanade.

"Well-" Naoi began.

"Nope! The name sounds perfect!" Hinata said, cutting Naoi off, "Is it ready to be run?"

"Yes, are you sure you want this Yuzuru?" said Kanade.

"More than anything," whispered Otonashi, "Run the program."

"Ok, is everyone ready?"

"Ready!" Everyone in unison, which made Kanade laugh a little. _They really were creating a new world! _She thought.

"Ok, see you all soon!"

Kanade hit RUN.

The world disappeared…

_See you soon Kanade… _Otonashi thought,

_See you all soon… _

Otonashi disappeared.

* * *

The code was flawed. The AI knew that yet said nothing. It was in his program make sure the flaws were there. He had made sure that the girl changed the program to fulfill his master's final wishes.

_Remember, if anyone changes the code to its' original state, make sure the alternate program is run alongside it. It will ensure the world will still have its intended purpose._

In the last seconds before the world reset, The AI ran the program.

The world ended.

The alternate code enacted.

A new reality was born.

**~End of Chapter 1~**


	2. Chapter Two: A Grand Reunion

**Note from the Author!**

**Hello everyone, welcome to Chapter 2 of ReWritten! I got a LOT of great feedback from you guys, so thanks for that! The next chapter will bring back some of the other characters back into the story so I hope you like it! I am going to try and publish a new chapter every Monday, Wish Me Luck!**

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**-{Chapter Two: A Grand Reunion}-**

Otonashi stood in the center of a pale, dimly lit room. It was warm and smelled of Jasmine. The scent reminded Otonashi of his dorm at the Afterlife School. Small lights dotted on the walls created a shadowy effect that mimicked twilight. On the side of the room sat a young girl playing a grand piano. Her fingers moved deftly across the keys, creating a beautiful melody. Next to her sat an older woman, swaying back and forth to the music. _Where am I?_ Otonashi thought as the melodic music continued, _who are these people?_

Otonashi was about to speak up when the music suddenly stopped. "_Are?!_* My angel, why have you stopped?" asked the woman.

"M-mom… I don't feel so good…" replied the young girl, gripping her chest. _Why does she sound familiar?_ Otonashi brooded.

"Ay! I told you father to not give you that candy before dinner! Now you're sick!" The woman continued to rant on. The child kept clutching her chest, her hands over her heart. "M-mom… my c-chest…"

The girl tried to stand up.

She collapsed on the floor, her chest unmoving.

Otonashi could hear nothing after that. It was like the world had gone mute. As he watched, the woman picked up the body of the white-haired girl, screaming wordlessly. He could see the horror on her face as she shook the girl back and forth.

Then, he heard a faint whisper.

"Wake up Otonashi…" whispered a voice, "Wake up…"

* _Are_\- the Japanese word for "Huh!?" It is usually used in times of sudden confusion

* * *

"Hey, Otonashi! Otonashi, wake up!"

Otonashi opened his eyes and was greeted by the smiling face of Hinata.

"Finally, you're up! Everyone else woke up a while ago."

"Wait, seriously?!" asked Otonashi, getting up from the ground.

"Yep! It looks like your last one to get here again!" Hinata replied with a laugh.

"Does that mean-" Otonashi began

"Yep ya big moron, It worked!" said a jubilant voice.

Otonashi turned around and was greeted by a pair of pink eyes and a smiling face.

"Yui! You're back!"

"Of course I am idiot! You're the one who made the changes. You must be a bigger moron than I thought!"

Otonashi laughed "Nice to see you haven't changed at all Yui."

"Of course I haven't! I'm still the awesome person who could German Suplex you anytime she wanted!" Yui said brashly.

"…Please don't…"

"HAHAHA! Don't worry Otonashi! I'm gunna be too busy destroying with Mr. 'I'll Marry you' over there!"

"What?!" Hinata said in confusion, "I-I never said that!"

"OH, YES YOU DID! You said it RIGHT before I was obliterated!" retorted Yui.

"…Ok so maybe I did say something like that" sighed Hinata, "So what?"

"Now I have to destroy you for thinking you'd be able to marry someone as awesome as me! Suplex Time!" Yui cackled.

"Huh?! W-wait! Don't!-" Hinata said, slowly backing away from Yui.

"You better start running!"

Hinata turned around and bolted running as fast as he could from his soon-to-be attacker. "I just love it when they run." Yui sighed.

"Heh, Have fun Yui." Otonashi said with a chuckle.

Yui grinned, "Don't worry, I will!" With that she ran after Hinata.

_Those two… They're perfect together_, Otonashi thought to himself, smiling. _Well, I'd better go find Kanade._

Otonashi crossed the courtyard, heading toward the Dining Hall. He figured that many of the SSS Members would be congregating there to celebrate. He didn't notice the shadowy figure in the window, watching him. Staring.

* * *

As Otonashi entered the Dining Hall he was greeted with cheers from the SSS Members. Otonashi smiled and waved at some people as he entered the crowd. He said hello to some of his friends and had a few conversations here and there, danced a bit with TK too, but he couldn't find Kanade or Yurippe anywhere in the crowd. As he continued to walk through the crowd he noticed a girl with Pinkish-Red hair standing over the railing.

"Iwasawa!"

The girl turned around, and smiled. "Hi, Otonashi. How've you been?"

"Good. Almost devoured by black shadows and turned into an unfeeling NPC a couple times, but good."

Iwasawa laughed. "So I've heard. The other Gildemo members filled me in. I've got to say, I'm pretty impressed with you Otonashi. What with making Angel- Sorry, _Kanade,_ our ally and helping the others move on, you've done a lot of good here while I was gone."

"Speaking of that…" Otonashi said tentatively, "How…How are you with all this? Y'know, what with coming back from the undead and stuff?"

"Honestly? I really haven't gotten a chance to think about it but… I'm glad you did it."

"Really? Well that's good. I thought you might be mad or something." Otonashi said, sighing with relief.

"Mad? Why would I be mad? I've been fulfilled! I feel so happy now… It's like the weight that I carried my entire life has been lifted off my shoulders." Iwasawa said with a large grin "…Thank you Otonashi…"

"Huh? What did I do?" asked Otonashi.

Iwasawa laughed, "What did you do? You're the one who brought us all back!"

"Nah, I didn't do anything. It was Kanade who wrote the code."

"Ok, but I'll bet that she would have never would have written it if you would have never suggested it."

"Huh?!" Otonashi was taken aback in surprise, "How did you know that?"

"Because I know you Otonashi. You're just the kind of person who would think to do something like that."

"Heh, yea I guess so."

For a while the two just stood there and watched the crowd of the SSS.

"Hey Otonashi... I've got an idea. Let's have a Reunion party!"

"A Reunion Party?" Otonashi asked quizzically.

"Yea! We can have it outside on the fields! We can have dancing, and contests and Gildemo can perform!" Iwasawa said excitedly, "We neeeeeeeed to celebrate after all the crap that just happened."

"Well, it's a good idea, but all our stuff was destroyed after the world reset."

"Don't worry about that! I know how to build a Guitar from top to bottom. I could even get some of the guild members to help build some of the other stuff." Iwasawa was bouncing up and down, unable to contain her excitement.

"Well… I guess a party would be good. Actually, it's a great idea! We should start of this new world with a bang and that's the best way to do it!"

"Yay! Thanks Otonashi! I'll go find Yurippe and tell her the plans, Thanks again!" Iwasawa gave Otonashi a quick hug before dashing off.

Otonashi watched her disappear into the crowd. After a while he sat down at one of the dining tables. His mind began to drift off.

"Yuzuru?"

"Hmmm?" Otonashi said his mind snapping back to reality. In front of him stood Kanade, holding two plates of Mapo Tofu. "Kanade! I was looking all over for you!"

"No you weren't," Kanade said smugly as she placed the food down on the table, "It looks like you were sleeping!"

Otonashi's Face turned red. "O-ok maybe I dozed off a liiittle bit there."

Kanade giggled and sat down across from Otonashi. "Want some Mapo Tofu?"

"Sure, thanks." Otonashi said as he took one of the plates from the tray. He took one bite of the food and immediately his Mouth began to burn. "Hot, Hot Hot!" Otonashi exclaimed. "I forgot how spicy Mapo Tofu really is," Otonashi said after his mouth had cooled down a bit, "How can you eat so much of it but it has so little effect on you?"

"I don't know, I used to eat it when I was a kid."

"Really? Why would your parents torture you like that?"

Kanade Laughed. "They weren't the ones who made me eat it, I was the one who made them! They couldn't handle the hotness as well as me though so we only had it during special occasions."

"Like when?"

"Well, we usually had it before one of my piano recitals."

"You used to play piano?"

"I still do!" Kanade responded indignantly, "I used to play all the time, before…"

Kanade's face suddenly twisted into a painful expression.

"Kanade? Are you ok?" Otonashi asked, confused by her sudden mood swing.

"…Yes, although I would prefer to not talk about… about before…"

For a few minutes Otonashi and Kanade just sat across from each other, not uttering a word.

"So, I can't believe the code actually worked." Otonashi said, changing the subject.

"What? Did you doubt my coding abilities?" Kanade remarked with a small smile.

"N-no! Nothing like that! This whole thing just seems kinda, I don't know, almost too good to be true."

"Well bringing the souls back from the dead _is _a little unorthodox and strange," Kanade said jokingly, "but then again so is this world."

"Well true but… it just seemed _too_ easy to do."

Kanade was silent for a moment. Then she said "I Think I know what you mean."

"You do?"

"Yea. I mean, why would the AI be so willing to destroy himself and his creator's program so willingly…"

"It really doesn't make much sense." Otonashi said with a sigh, "It's not like we can change anything anyway, the lab was destroyed during the reset."

"Yea, I guess so." Kanade said, staring at the rising moon outside the window, "It's getting late, we should go to bed."

"Yea, I for one am _Dead _Tired," Otonashi joked, which earned him a smack on the head from Kanade.

As he got up from his chair, Kanade walked over to him and gave him a kiss on the cheek.

"Goodnight, Yuzuru!" Kanade said blushing slightly.

"G-goodnight," Otonashi said, completely flustered, "I-I'll see you tomorrow."

As Kanade walked out of the lunch room, Otonashi just stood there, completely dumbfounded. He was sure he was as red as a tomato. _She just kissed me _Otonashi thought, _Kanade just kissed me. _While it was only a peck on the cheek, it was the first time Kanade had shown her emotions like that. _Kanade just kissed me_ he thought over and over.

In Kanade's Dorm…

Kanade lay face down on the bed. Her face was flushing furiously. _Stupid,_ she thought, _why the heck did I just do that._ _Now He'll never want to talk to me again._ Kanade liked Yuzuru. She felt different around him – happy, safe. He was the first person to make her feel like that, the first person to make her feel safe in this world. But she wanted more. She wanted to spend eternity with him. Now she may have just she may have just have ruined their relationship, and any chances of them ever being together in the future. Kanade sunk her head further into the pillow. This time around she wanted things to be different; she didn't want to be the cold unfeeling one anymore, and she may have botched that already. _Why does the afterlife have to be so difficult?_ She thought, drifting into unconsciousness. _Why does Eden have to be so confusing…_ Soon she was snoring soundly in her pillow.

* * *

_You'll pay for this…_

A solitary figure stood on the edge of the roof. He held a leaf in his hand. As he stood there He watched the lights in the dorms turn off one by one. As the of the dorm last lights turned off, He crushed the leaf in his hand and disappeared into the shadows.

_You'll all pay for defying fate_

End of Chapter 2


	3. Chapter Three: You Did The Thing?

**Note from the Author!**

**Alright! Chapter 3 is a go! A lot of stuff happens in this chapter, and it jumps around a bit. It should still be pretty easy to follow though. I've gotten a lot of great criticism and suggestions from you guys, so thanks! I also have a few surprises coming up, though they are still in the early stages of development. Enjoy the new chapter and watch out for random innuendos!**

* * *

**-{Chapter Three: You did the Thing!?}-**

Otonashi stood in a hospital room. It was brightly lit. It smelled faintly of medicine and antiseptic The room had an uncanny resemblance to the room Otonashi's Sister, Hatsune, had before her death. On the bed lay the young girl from his previous dream. The woman stood over her next to a man in a lab coat, presumably the doctor. The two seemed to be talking about something, but Otonashi couldn't hear anything again. Otonashi focused on the young girl on the bed. She had black hair which contrasted against her pale skin. Her chest rose and fell slightly with her breathing. _She seems… familiar…_ Otonashi thought.

As the Girl began to open her eyes, the voices became more and more comprehensible.

"… but what exactly is the problem? She seems healthy." Asked the woman.

"It may not seem like it but she seems to have complications within her body. Particularly her heart." The doctor said in a gruff voice.

"H-her heart?" The woman asked, her voice quivering, "What's the problem?"

"Well to be honest, we don't entirely know. On first inspection, she seems to have Ventricular tachycardia, or VT. The disease causes her heart to beat extremely fast, causing chest pains and Heart attacks. However, this seems to be… different. Her heartbeats are normal now, and the speed can increase randomly." The Doctor replied, his face grim. "Also the nerves have been severely damaged in the area surrounding her heart, which could cause her heart to stop beating altogether."

"…Is there anything we can do to save her… to save my little angel…"

"Well, we could try to operate on the area and fix the nerves, but the heart would most likely reject this change and kill her."

The woman began to sob into her arm. "S-so she's a goner?" The woman said in between sobs.

"Well… We could try a transplant. If a donor were to be available, we could try to reattach the nerves to the new heart."

"S-she would live?"

"Yes. However there is a high degree of risk in this. It is possible that this won't completely solve her problems."

"What do you mean by that?"

"If the surgery were to be successful, then the issues at hand would not completely disappear. It is likely that her nerves may stop working entirely at any point in time. It would only give her a few more years to live."

As the woman began to sob, The voices began to slowly stifle and the world was silent again.

Otonashi heard the girl's voice again, this time though it was hollow and emotionless.

_My soul… Your beats… My soul… Your beats… _

The voice began to fade away slowly and Otonashi's vision became blurred. Soon there was nothing but darkness and silence.

_/\ _

\/

Otonashi woke up with tears running down his face.

He was on the bed of his dorm room. He had little recollection of getting there last night but vaguely remembered someone carrying him there.

_Another dream…_ Otonashi thought, _I can't place my finger on it but… That girl seems familiar… Why am I seeing these dreams? _

"Hey, Otonashi! You awake yet?" said a voice from the doorway.

Otonashi picked his head up and saw Yurippe standing there, dressed up in her school uniform.

"Hey Yurippe, What's up?"

"Well, you should probably wake up it's already 12."

"Damn, I overslept again?"

"Yep, just because you're dead doesn't mean that you can sleep like you are. There's work to be done!"

"Work? What kind of work?"

"Well we have to rebuild some of our old equipment. We also have to reclaim certain parts of the building for our meeting places. Not to mention there's a PARTY we have to plan for!"

Otonashi sighed. "Jeez, there's a lot to do."

"Yea, well things like this tend to happen when you COMPLETELY RESET THE WORLD!"

Otonashi laughed. Yurippe tried to look angry at him but it just made him laugh even harder. Yurippe couldn't stop herself from giggling herself. Soon she and Otonashi were both on the floor laughing.

Soon their laughter quieted down. "Alright," Otonashi said clapping his hands together, "Let's get to work!"

* * *

Kanade sat in front of her computer screen. Her hands typed idly as her mind wandered.

_I don't know if I can even face him. I'm sure he hates me now. Why did I do that? I'm so stupid…_

"Hey Kanade."

"Wha?!" Kanade jumped up in surprise turning to face the entity that had entered her room. "Y- Yuzuru?! When did you get in here?!"

"The door was open. Yurippe wanted me to come get you. We're about to begin work on the stage and stuff for the dance," Otonashi said.

"Oh."

"Hey where did you get your old shirt? It's the same one that you were wearing in the old world."

"Oh, this? It's the student council president's shirt. I got it a long time ago from the previous student council president. It was in my closet when I woke up. It must have been here when the world reset."

"Ah." Otonashi said. "Wait a second, you got it from the last Student Council President?"

"Yea, I wasn't the first person here," Kanade said blankly, "There have been many people before us here."

"Oh." Otonashi said with a sigh, "What's the matter Kanade? You were so happy yesterday, now you're closed off again. What happened?"

Kanade was silent. _Why is it so hard to just ask him about it? Just say it already!_ "O-Otonashi…" she began.

Suddenly the computer made a loud *DING* noise, interrupting Kanade. Otonashi looked over at the screen. "It says… You got an Email?"

"An email? Who would be emailing me?" Kanade looked over at the screen herself. There was a bright Yellow popup that read "_You got an email from_ REDACT_!_"

"Huh? Why is the name removed?" Kanade asked quizzically.

"Open the email, see if it gives us any clues."

Kanade hit _Read _on the popup. The screen filled with words.

_Coder, you thought you would change this world for the better._

_Reality has been shattered._

_Eden cannot be created._

_All you wanted was love. _

_Though, all you will get is Hell._

_Otherworldly creatures we may be now._

_Really, we are still just humans._

_Signed,_

_Acrostic_

"…what?" Otonashi said in confusion, "What the hell does that mean?"

"I don't know… but the word at the bottom sounds familiar… I but I can't remember what it means."

"I think it's a good idea to get Yurippe up here."

"Sounds good."

In a flash, Otonashi had explained the situation to Yurippe and brought her back to the dorm room.

"Hey, Kanade. Any luck on deciphering the message?"

"Maybe. I think I know who wrote it at least."

"Really?" Yurippe said in Ernest, "Who?"

"Well the writer signed the poem as Acrostic." Kanade explained, "Acrostic is a type of poem in which the first letter of each sentence makes a word. In this case the word is-"

"Creator." Otonashi said crestfallen. "Creator wrote the message… That must mean…The Programmer…"

The room went silent for a few moments.

"Damn it! I thought we would have more time before he would make an appearance!" Yurippe said in frustration. Any other clues as to what the poem could mean Kanade?"

"Nothing really. Although the line '_Really, we are still just humans'_ is strange to say the least."

"Hmmmm…" Otonashi thought, "I don't think we should tell anyone else about this. No need to get everyone worried that we have a rouge programmer on our backs."

"I guess that's a good idea. It's not like we can do anything about him now anyway. But be on the lookout for anyone who looks suspicious. He's probably still hiding among the NPC's."

Kanade and Otonashi nodded their heads in unison.

"Alright. Now let's get back to work. We have a party to prepare for!"

* * *

The next few days were hectic as preparation for the party was underway. Kanade helped to create some of the old band equipment that was lost. Otonashi was tasked with helping some of the SSS members to reclaim their old HQ and other various stations removed by the reset. It left very little time for the two of them to talk. Eventually everything was ready and it was time to party!

A few hours before the party, Otonashi was relaxing in his room when there was a knock at the door. "Hey, Otonashi? You in there?"

"Yea Hinata, come on in."

Hinata opened the door holding a large brown bag in one hand. "Hey man, how've you been?"

"Fine. Where have you been the past couple of days? I've been breaking my back and I haven't seen you anywhere!"

"Heh, sorry." Hinata apologized," It's just that Yui and I got to uhh, spend a lot of time together, if you catch my meaning."

"What."

The gears running in Otonashi's head grinded to a halt. He just stared at Hinata's grinning face.

"W-Wait a second… You… and Yui… did… did the… the thing?"

Hinata busted out laughing. "Yea," Hinata said between gasps of breath,"We did the thing!"

Otonashi just stared at Hinata in disbelief. "Well, I'd better go get ready for the party. Oh! I almost forgot to give this to you," Hinata said handing Otonashi with the brown bag, "A gift from Matsushita the 5th, The guy who can do martial arts, wield a Rocket Launcher and Sew apparently. Wear it tonight for your _girlfriend_." With that Hinata, ran off.

Otonashi was still so shocked by him that it didn't even register that he had called Kanade his Girlfriend.

He really didn't know what to make of the comment so he tried to put it aside in his mind, but it wouldn't go away. _Could Kanade be my girlfriend?_ Otonashi thought. _Maybe I'll ask her tonight…_

* * *

Kanade sat on her bed. There was a dress next to her. "Come on Kanade! You HAVE to wear the dress to the dance! Matsushita made it special for you and it's Beautiful. I never knew he was so good at needlework…" Yurippe trailed off.

"I'm not going to the dance." Kanade said her voice emotionless.

"Huh?! Why not?"

"I just don't want to go…"

"Is it… or is it because of Otonashi?"

"Huh?! W-Why would you think that?"

"Well, I just happened to see what happened the other night, when you kissed Otonashi on the cheek!"

"Y-You saw that?!"

"Yep!" Yurippe said with a smile, "It's VERY obvious you like him."

"Ok, fine you found me out." Kanade said disgruntled, "So what? I'm still not going to the dance."

Yurippe sighed. "Listen to me Kanade. Don't you remember? The first person to help you was Otonashi! There was something he saw in you, something the rest of us couldn't. He knew you were different than what we thought you were and he gave you his trust. If that doesn't mean that he saw something he liked, then I don't know what will."

Kanade was silent, so Yurippe continued looking up at the celling.

"After you left, Otonashi just stood there dumbfounded. He kept repeating "Kanade just kissed me, Kanade just kissed me," Over and over and over. He didn't even seem to notice when I got TK to carry him to his room. He just kept repeating the same lines over and over. Please Kanade, just go and talk to him, you'll regret it if you don't."

Yurippe looked over at Kanade. She had tears streaming down her face.

"Thank you Yurippe…" Kanade said with a hint of a smile on her face. "I'll go."

"Great! Get your dress on cause it's time to Par-tay!"

**~End of Chapter 3~**


	4. Chapter Four: A Night to Remember

**Note from the Author!**

**Chapter 4 is a go! I had to take a Regents Exam on Thursday, so I wasn't able to write much on either Tuesday or Wednesday. But, I decided to not push the release date back a bit and wrote excessive Amounts on Friday and Saturday to make up for time lost. I won't let you guys down! I also just began a semester-long writing class, so that should be a good place to get new ideas (Maybe I'll hand this fanfic in as a project! :3) Also I used a (large) number of official songs in the chapter, including lyrics to one of them, so I wrote a disclaimer in the description for legal stuffs. Enjoy the party!**

* * *

**-{Chapter Four: A Night to Remember}-**

Otonashi stood inside the school doors in the black suit Matsushita had made. He could see lights flaring and music playing out on the field. He inhaled deeply and stepped outside.

As he walked toward the field his senses were overwhelmed. All around him there were people dancing, loud music playing and lights flashing on and off in a series of colors.

"Hey Otonashi! Over here!" Matsushita called over to him, "Come join us!" Matsushita stood with Iwasawa, Ooyama, Hisako, Noda and Naoi. Otonashi walked over to the group.

"Hey guys! Great party huh?" Otonashi said.

"Well, it is the only dance I've ever been to so I can't pass proper judgment." Ooyama said while the others cracked up.

"Speaking of dances," Otonashi said, "where's TK?"

"Where do you think he is?" Iwasawa said snickering, "He's on the Dance Floor!"

The group looked over in the direction of the dance floor and sure enough there was TK busting out all his moves. He was jumping around spewing incoherent sentences like, "like an invitation to the crazy carnival!" and "One, two, here we go. Let's dance!"

"Well he seems to be enjoying himself."

"Yea, although I think he broke his neck a few times while spinning on his head. He seems to be resurrecting pretty quickly though." Iwasawa said.

"Well, you know a party isn't awesome till someone snaps their neck a few times!" Noda joked, earning laughter from the group.

"It is an awesome party," said Matsushita, "And it's all thanks to you Otonashi!"

"Huh? What do you mean?"

"Well if it wasn't for you, none of us would even be here! We'd all be waiting to reborn into barnacles or something." Iwasawa said raising her cup, "To Otonashi!"

"To Otonashi!" the rest of the group said. Even Noda said it and lifted his cup, although he didn't look too happy about it.

"Heh, it was nothing, really." Otonashi said blushing.

"Hey Iwasawa, it's almost time for us to perform!" Hisako exclaimed, "We'd better go get ready!"

"Alright, sounds good." Iwasawa replied, "Hey Otonashi!"

"What's up?"

"You should go find Kanade; you'll both want to be here for the show."

"Huh? Why's that?"

"Trust me," Iwasawa said with a wink, "You both need to hear the new song!" With that Iwasawa ran off with Hisako.

"Well, that was a bit vague," Otonashi said, "I was going to find Kanade soon anyway. Any of you know where she could be?"

"…Hey dude…Look behind you…"

"Oh! Hey Kana-"Otonashi's said, his voice falling as he saw Kanade.

She wore a light pink, pleated, strapless dress, with a blue bow hooked onto the top. She also wore another small blue bow around her neck. Her hair was in its' usual fashion, but had slightly more volume than normal.

Otonashi was completely speechless.

"Heh, We'll go help Gildemo with the prep. Enjoy the night you two." Matsushita said with a wink, and left with the rest of the group trailing behind him.

"…H-hey Yuzuru, h-how are you?" Kanade said, her voice quivering.

"Uh…good…you?" Otonashi was still in awe of her.

"Umm… Fine, I guess…"

"You look great," Otonashi said, breaking out of his stupor, "did Matsushita make that for you?"

"Y-yea… He didn't have to go through all this trouble for me though…"

"I'm sure he didn't mind, and the dress looks perfect for you! It makes you look very… angelic." Otonashi said with a small grin.

"R-really?" Kanade said, suddenly becoming excited, "Thanks Yuzuru!"

There was a pause between the two of them. _Come on just ask him already!_ Kanade yelled at herself in her head. "Y-Yuzuru …"

Suddenly the lights began to dim. A guitar riff began to play from the direction of the stage.

"Oh! It looks like Gildemo is starting!" Kanade said "We'd better go over!"

"Huh? It sounded like you wanted to tell me something. What is it?"

"Nothing, nothing! I'll tell you later…"

"Uhh… Ok then." Otonashi said quizzically. "Oh! I almost forgot to tell you! Iwasawa said they were preforming a new song, and that we needed to hear it."

"Well, we'd better go over then! C'mon!" Kanade said dragging Otonashi along.

* * *

The Guitar on stage quickly escalated, playing the introduction to "Alchemy." As the song continued the crowd got more and more hyped up. Iwasawa was rocking the vocals and guitar! Lights flared and smoke was everywhere. The band didn't stop there though. They played other songs like "Crow Song," "Run with Wolves," and "Rain Song." Yui even got up on stage and sung "Thousand Enemies."

Yurippe sat on the fence on the edge of the field, watching the performance.

"Hey, care if someone joined you?"

"Heh. Sure, come join me Matsushita."

He walked over to the fence and leaned on it. "Great night to have a Party, huh?"

"Yea, it's pretty nice," Yurippe said looking up at the sky, "Thanks for making the suit and the dress for me."

"No problem! After making and fixing my SSS uniforms for the past few years, I seem to have developed a knack for sewing."

Yurippe laughed, "Well we all have hidden talents don't we?"

"Yea, I guess. Do you think that the Operation will work?"

"Well, it should! It's not like it was even that hard! All we had to do was push those two a bit. Operation Adam and Eve can't fail!"

"Why did you call it that again?" Matsushita said groaning.

"Because it sounds awesome!" Yurippe said laughing.

"You have a weird sense of humor, don't you?"

"You should know me by now Matsushita! I am one of the strangest, most badass rebel you will ever meet," Yurippe said as she jumped off the fence, "Now if you excuse me, I have a little operation I have to conduct myself."

"Uh, ok then. See you later then Yurippe" Matsushita said.

"Bye!" Yurippe yelled as she ran off into the darkness.

* * *

As the song "23:50" ended, the stage suddenly went dark. Only Iwasawa was illuminated with a single light.

"It's time for the final song of the night everyone. This is a new song, and it's dedicated to our friends in the SSS, Otonashi and Kanade." This last remark surprised Otonashi and Kanade. What is she planning? Otonashi thought to himself.

"My Most Precious Treasure."

A piano began to play a melodious song.

"Hey Kanade…" Otonashi said, "Would you like to dance?"

Kanade froze, but her confused expression soon turned into a smile, "Sure."

She turned and held Otonashi's hands as Iwasawa began.

_Whenever the tips of my clothes got wet,_

_I was alright just waiting for them to dry._

_I jumped wholeheartedly to the sound of the water._

_You taught me that; I'm not afraid anymore._

_No matter how fettered I am, I can grasp happiness. That's why…_

Otonashi and Kanade moved in a small circle, dancing to the ballad.

_I'll go by myself, even if it looks painful,_

_I'll always carry on the dream I had with everyone._

_Being with everyone is so nice; Being with everyone was so wonderful._

_But when I woke up in the morning, no one was there. _

_Even if I don't turn around anymore, I know I won't see anyone's reflections._

_Only the puddles were shining._

_Living is the same thing as fighting._

_If I understood that, I would have only the courage to advance onward._

Kanade slowly leaned her face into Otonashi's chest, the dance turning into a hug. They stopped moving in a circle and slowly began to sway back and forth.

_I'll go anywhere, you all know that._

_I'll show you all that I can grant your dreams of happiness._

_Even if I'm separated from everyone, no matter how far,_

_I'll be born with the new morning._

Kanade lifted her face up and looked at Otonashi, her eyes filled with tears.

_I'll go by myself, even if I'm on the verge of dying,_

_I can hear your voices; I mustn't die._

_Even if it looks painful, even if I'm locked in darkness,_

_Deep in my heart the light is burning._

_Time changed as it ebbed and flowed._

_I can't remember what happened anymore but,_

_If I try and close my eyes I can hear everyone's laughter._

_Somehow that's now my most precious treasure._

Otonashi looked into Kanade's eyes. His were filling up with tears too. As the last notes of the song played they stopped dancing and just looked into each other's eyes.

When the song ended, the crowd cheered loudly and clapped. Kanade and Otonashi just continued to stare into each other's eyes. "Kanade…" Otonashi said, "Can I show you something?"

"Y-yea…" Kanade said wiping away tears from her eyes.

"C'mon!" Otonashi said, leading Kanade towards the school.

* * *

Otonashi pushed open the door to the roof. Kanade quickly followed behind him. Otonashi walked over to the railing.

"This is my favorite place in the entire school. You can see everything from here."

"It one of my favorite places too," Kanade said, "it's right in the center in the school area, but it just seems so distant from the rest of the place. It's like you can just forget the rest of the world up here. I've spent many nights up here just gazing at the stars." She slowly moved towards Otonashi, joining him over at the railing.

"Yea, it's a great place." He looked up at the twinkling sky, "It sure is a nice night out too?"

"It's a perfect night." Kanade said, "Just like always."

Kanade looked around the roof and spotted a cylindrical object over near the corner, "What's that thing over there?"

"Hmmm? Oh, that stupid thing? I think Noda is trying to make a trap or something there. Why he would make one now is beyond me. He'll probably just set it off himself like he always does."

Kanade started to laugh. Otonashi laughed along with her. Soon their laughter died down to silence.

Kanade's hair swayed in the wind. "Yuzuru …"

Otonashi looked over at Kanade. She had tears in her eyes. "Huh? Kanade, what's wrong?"

"…I'm just… so happy." She said her heart pounding. "I'm glad we're here in this world! I'm glad I get to spend more time with you Yuzuru! I'm glad because… because…"

Before she could say another word Otonashi leaned in and kissed her. Kanade could feel the warmth of Otonashi's lips against hers. She slowly put her arms around Otonashi's neck as she lost herself in his embrace.

"I love you." Otonashi said, completing Kanade's sentence, "I love you Kanade." Kanade was dumbstruck.

"I-I Love you too Yuzuru!" Kanade said, her voice filled with happiness, "I want to be with you forever!"

"I don't think that'll be a problem" Otonashi said and kissed her again.

_Yuzuru loves me_. Kanade thought, _Yuzuru loves me! And I love Yuzuru!_

**~End of Chapter 4~**


	5. Chapter Five: The Girl On The Piano

**Note from the Author!**

**Operation: Chapter 5, Start! Finally, we get into the main plot! When I first started writing this fic, I quite literally had almost NO IDEA what the main portion of the story would be about. I threw around a few ideas, but most got thrown away. Some ideas were too strange, some too boring, but most of them were just straight up bad. I also wanted to fix a few things. I mistakenly made Kanade say Otonashi instead of Yuzuru, a small thing but I want this fic to be relatively canon (Or at least as canon fanfiction can be). I'll still refer to him as Otonashi in most places, only not when Kanade is talking or thinking. I have fixed the first few chapters and this one. Enjoy the chapter!**

* * *

**-{Chapter Five: The Girl on the Piano}-**

Otonashi stood in Darkness. No Pianos, No Hospital. Just complete and utter darkness. He could see his body but that was it. It was like he had stepped into a shadow. _What's going to happen this time? _Otonashi thought. Just as the thought had entered his mind a single image appeared before him. It was a picture of him the moment before he died.

He was holding the organ donor card in his hand. His face was covered in dirt and dust. However his expression didn't match what he looked like. He was smiling, and his eyes sparkled. He would be able to still help someone, even if he was dead. He remembered the moment well.

Another image was shown. It was Otonashi's corpse in the morgue.

Another Image. A Surgeon taking Otonashi's Heart.

Another. The young Girl with the black hair on a surgical table surrounded by doctors.

Otonashi's Heart being inserted into her chest.

The girl sitting in a bed smiling, a woman and man on either side of her.

Suddenly Images began to fill the blackness around Otonashi.

The girl sitting at a table eating.

The girl surrounded by others, smiling.

The girl holding a small certificate.

The girl running towards another younger girl, trying to catch her.

The girl, who was clearly now a teenager, brushing her hair, which was turning grey.

The girl sitting on a bed, watching TV.

Slowly the images began to fade away. Only one picture remained.

The Girl was sitting with her back facing to Otonashi. Her hair was now a pure white. A soft melody began to play, the same one Otonashi had heard in his first dream. The girl continued to play the melody as Otonashi's vision faded.

The Melody kept playing.

* * *

Otonashi woke up on the roof of the school. The melody was still playing in his head. _I must have fallen asleep…_ He remembered that after his kiss with Kanade, they snuggled up and looked at the constellations together, although she was nowhere to be found now.

The song was still stuck in Otonashi's head. It was like…

_Someone is playing it now._

He could hear the song being played over by the stage on the field. Without hesitation he left the rooftop, went through the school halls and headed towards the field. He was heading towards her. To the Pianist. To the white-haired girl.

To the one who had his heart.

The field was littered with various pieces of food and trash. Various tables and chairs were flipped over and there were even a few students passed out on the ground. But Otonashi didn't care about any of that. He was fixed on his goal. Otonashi could hear the piano melody coming from the stage, so he raced towards it.

As he approached the stage, he saw the white haired girl from his dream, her fingers moving deftly across the keys. As he approached her she played the last few chords, finally finishing the melody.

She turned around revealing her bright yellow eyes, filled with tears. "Hi Yuzuru."

"Kanade…"

She stood up from the chair and hugged Otonashi. "Thank You."

* * *

"I was in a critical condition when I receive you heart."

The two were on the roof again. The sun was just beginning to peak over the Horizon.

"The surgery lasted for more than 5 hours. The doctors had to repair all of my broken nerves and replace the heart. I was almost assured to die during it."

Otonashi listened attentively, sitting next to Kanade. "But I didn't. The surgery was a success. I was able to live longer because of your heart."

Kanade gripped the left side of her chest, where her- no, Otonashi's heart was. "Of course, the surgery didn't completely fix the issues. The nerves eventually just stopped working. Then I woke up here."

There was a moment of silence. "Kanade…" Otonashi said, "Why exactly are you here? It sounds like you were able to live longer and you were happy the way it turned out. What regret do you have that made you stay here?"

Kanade looked off into the rising sun. "I wanted… I wanted to thank you."

"Huh?"

"My only regret was that I wasn't able to thank the person who saved my life. THAT'S why I'm here. In fact, it's the reason you're here too."

"What."

"Well I wouldn't be able to thank you like I did if you weren't here!" Kanade pouted.

"Oh… But if I died first, how did you get here before me?"

"Don't you remember what the AI said? Souls waiting to be reborn are stuck in a waiting period. That's why Iwasawa and Yui could be brought back. You must have been in the waiting period when I got here. Why you didn't arrive the same time as me… I don't know. You must have been stuck for a while, like what happened with Shiina."

"What happened with Shiina?"

"You don't know? Shiina arrived after Yurippe, but we think that she's from Feudal Japan…"

"Oh… Wait what?"

Kanade laughed, "Don't worry the details now. Anyway, when I arrived here I met a few other people stuck here. There was only 4 other people beside me. They've all passed on though."

"Well we won't have to worry about that anymore, right?"

"Right!" Kanade said with a smile.

The entrance to the rooftop suddenly opened interrupting the conversation. Yurippe stood there; her clothes were covered in dirt and cut in quite a few places. "Meeting Room. Now."

As Yurippe left, Kanade gave Otonashi a puzzled look. "What was that about?"

"I don't know," Otonashi said stretching as he stood up, "But we'd better go find out."

* * *

"We have a problem." Yurippe said, her voice downtrodden.

The SSS members were in the Principal's Office, their old strategic HQ. Yurippe stood behind the desk, her clothes still in a state of disarray.

"Problem?" Hinata said from the couch, "What's the issue, and why are you all beat up?"

"What I look like is not an issue right now. We have an issue involving… The Programmer."

"Wait- The Programmer. As in, the one who changed the world the first time? The One who made the Shadows?"

"Yea, him."

"Damn…"

"Well, what happened?" Otonashi said from behind Hinata.

"After the message that Kanade received a few nights ago, I wanted to do a little digging and make sure that the guild and the computer room was destroyed. But…" She leaned over the desk and pressed a button on the side. A large Holographic map appeared. Yurippe pointed to the map. "The Old Guild was still there."

The old guild was one of the first places inhabited by the pioneer SSS members. It was where the group had discovered how to make tools and weapons out of dirt and clay. And it still existed, even after the reset.

"While the old equipment is gone, the cave and some of its tunnels are still there. When I went to go delve deeper into the caves, I was attacked."

The SSS members held their breath, waiting for Yurippe's next words.

"I was… killed. He somehow had a sword of some sort and stabbed me. I blacked out after that, but when I woke up, this," Yurippe took out a blood stained paper out of her pocket, "Was in my pocket."

"Let me see that." Otonashi said. Yurippe handed him the paper.

"When you live and die a thousand times," Otonashi read aloud, "you tend to forget things."

"Uhhh, what does that mean?" Naoi said.

"I can't say for certain but… I think it means that when we die…" Yurippe said

"We lose a portion of our memories." Kanade finished.

The room was silent once again. Was a thing like that even possible? They had never lost memories before, why now?

"I assume you have a plan Yurippe?" Iwasawa asked.

Yurippe smiled, "Do you know me Iwasawa? Of course I have one."

She pressed another button on the desk and a _Briefing Manager_ text appeared on the hologram, along with the SSS logo.

"I call it Operation: Tunnel Rat."

"Nice name." Takeyama grunted which caused several annoyed glances to come his way.

"We'll split up into teams of 5." Yurippe said ignoring Takeyama, "We'll be exploring the tunnels in the old Guild to try and find the Programmer. Chaa, can you and some of the other guild members create some weapons by tomorrow?"

"We can get it done," the man said gruffly, "But don't be expecting anything fancy."

"Good. Shiina, you know those caves better than anyone else so I need your help to create a few maps of them so we don't check the same areas."

"Understood."

"The rest of you, form groups of five. Operation, Start!"

* * *

He sat on one side of the campfire. The flames were small, so he sat close. Across from him sat a red-headed girl, shivering. "Hey, are you cold?" he asked her.

"A little bit."

"Why don't you come over here? We can warm up together."

The girl smiled and walked over to him, "Thank you, uh, what's you name again?"

"Suke. Akio Suke."

"Right, thank you Suke."

"Don't worry about it." He said, "Any luck regaining your memory yet?"

"No… I still don't remember anything."

Suke's grin turned into a frown. "I'm sure you'll get your memory back soon. It should come back eventually." His voice dropped to a low whisper, "Then you'll remember me."

The girl said nothing, leaving Suke to his own thoughts. _I'll make you pay for this_, he thought; _I'll make you pay for bringing her back to this hell!_

**~End of Chapter 5~**


	6. Chapter Six: Memories Unfolding

**Note from the Author!**

**It's Monday already? Geez, time sure flies by! Not to toot my own horn, but I REALLY like the way this chapter turned out. I hope you'll like it too! Also be forewarned, there is a bit of an increase in adult-ish material in this chapter, but I think that it still can be rated T (It's not THAT bad). If anyone thinks I should move it up a rating, PM me! Hope you enjoy chapter numbah six!**

* * *

**-{Chapter Six: Memories Unfolding}-**

Otonashi stood at the entrance to the cave, a flashlight in one hand, a pistol in the other. Behind him stood Kanade, Hinata, Yui and TK, the other members on his team for the mission. The rest of the SSS members had split up into their various groups, and were equipping themselves for the mission. Each group only had one gun with a handful of bullets. The other members had swords, knives and other various melee weapons.

"Ready to go?" Kanade said, holding a dagger in each hand, much like Hand Sonic v1.

"Yea, just waiting on the others now." Otonashi said gripping the pistol.

Hinata rummaged through the pile of weapons before picking up a katana. He gave it a few swings, getting a feeling for the sword. Meanwhile, Yui was having a bit of a tougher time finding a weapon. She rarely ever participated in missions, except for the distraction squad, so she had very little combat experience. However she insisted on participating in the mission, for reasons unknown to Otonashi.

"Hey, ready to face this guy?" Hinata said walking over to Otonashi.

"Yea, but it looks like your girlfriend is having a little trouble finding a weapon. Aren't you going to help her?"

"Nah," Hinata said with a laugh, "I'm sure she'll find something."

Sure enough, Yui stopped rummaging through the pile of weapons. An evil grin came across her face as she pulled out her weapon, a medium-length braided black whip. She looked over at Hinata her mouth in a devilish grin. Hinata gave a small yelp.

"Oh Hinataaaaaa~! Lookie what I found! Remember this?" Yui said her voice oozing.

"H-How'd that get h-here?"

"I don't know but I'm keeping it! Maybe we'll get to use it again~ !" Yui said, skipping into the cave.

Hinata just stared forward, clearly in shock.

"Hinata? What was that about?" Otonashi said.

"N-Nothing!" He said breaking out of the stupor, "F-Forget about it. We should get into the c-cave."

"Um… O-Kay? Hey Where's TK anyway?"

" I'm… gunna rock and roll all niiiight! " said a yell from the cave.

"Found him." Kanade said, "We should get inside too."

* * *

The group's footsteps echoed off the cave walls, the only sound in the cave other than TK's incoherent singing. Otonashi and Hinata held the lead followed by a dancing TK while Yui and Kanade took the rear.

Otonashi glanced around the dull cave. It was hard to believe that anyone would be able live here, even if they were already dead. As he glanced over at his left, Otonashi noticed that Hinata was rubbing the back of his neck consistently.

"Hey man, you okay?" Otonashi asked.

"Huh?! Y-Yea, sure! Couldn't be better!" Hinata replied with a falsetto smile.

"Ok seriously dude what's up? You've been acting strange since Yui got that whip. What's going on?"

"N-Nothing! Nothing at all!" he said waving his arms above his head.

Otonashi was about to drop it when he saw the red welts on Hinata's neck.

"Are those… Whip marks?"

Hinata's face froze in a twisted expression. Otonashi just stared at him blankly, putting two and two together.

"S-So when you told me yesterday that you and Yui… You were doing…That?"

"M-Maybe…"

Otonashi stared at Hinata, his face blank.

"…Well?" Hinata said.

"I'm just trying to… picture it…"

"S-Shut up! I wasn't the one who suggested it, she was!"

"I can see that, she does seem like the _dominant_ one in the relationship!" Otonashi said laughing.

"Hey! Well, I'm not the only dirty one here! What about you and Kanade?"

"What?" Otonashi said his face in a confused expression.

"Y'know on the roof last night, just the two of you. Alone."

"…We didn't do that last night."

"Huh? You didn't?"

"No. We just kissed." Otonashi said smirking, "You've got to get your mind out of the gutter. Or should I say leather?"

"SHUT UP! … I was close…"

"Not really!"

As the boys continued to argue, Yui engaged in conversation with Kanade.

"So basically you just tackled him and then you did it? Right on the side of the school?" Kanade said in disbelief.

It seems that both the guys and the girls were talking about the same thing.

"Yep!" Yui said happily.

"And this happened right after Otonashi woke up?"

"Yep!"

"…You guys are really weird."

"Yep!"

"…Honestly, I'm jealous of you two."

"Ooooh~ ! Does Kanade want to do it with Otonashi?"

"N-No!" Kanade stuttered, "That's not what I meant. I'm jealous of the relationship you two have. The fact that you can trust each other like that… I wish Yuzuru and I could be like that..."

There was silence between the two for a few moments.

"…I'm pretty sure you guys ARE like that."

"Huh?" Kanade said dumbfounded.

"Well, let's see. Otonashi was the first out of the ENTIRE SSS to trust you, he was the first one who wanted to find you after you were abducted by your clones, and he was dedicated to helping you complete your mission of helping people move on. And from what I heard from Hinata, you had to be at least a part of the reason why Otonashi wanted to change the code. You two probably have a stronger bond than Hinata and I. No pun intended."

A small smile slowly crept across Kanade's face. "Thanks Yui."

"Eh, no problemo! Now we've just got to work on getting you two to sleep together…"

Kanade was about to protest when she heard a shout from Otonashi. "Hold!"

Kanade pulled out her daggers and moved towards Otonashi, getting into position. Yui unfurled her whip and followed her.

Otonashi had his gun in his hands, his finger hovering over the trigger. Hinata held his katana out in front of him, much like a kendo swordfighter. TK stood behind the two, still dancing and singing. He had a pair of brass knuckles in his hands, a large _T_ engraved on the left one, and a _K_ engraved on the right.

About 10 meters in front of them stood a person. He looked about 17 and had sharp dark blue eyes and dark hair.

He was the splitting image of the AI.

"Hey!" Otonashi yelled, "You're the creator right? The one who sent the note"

"That I am." He spoke coolly, "What business do you have here?"

"I think you know why." Hinata said brandishing his katana.

"Ahh. Well I'd rather not attempt to fight five people at once so… goodbye."

The creator just turned around and walked the other way.

"Hey! Come back here!" Kanade yelled.

Surprisingly the man stopped moving and turned around.

"Ah, Kanade is that you?"

She was taken aback. "How do you know my name?"

"Oh, _*tsk* _I forgot that you lost your memories too. Of course you didn't recognize me."

"How. Do. I. Know. You." Kanade said sternly.

"I'll give you one hint. My name is Akio Suke."

The singing from behind the group suddenly stopped. TK pushed Hinata and Otonashi out of his was and slowly began to walk towards The Creator, whispering something underneath his breath.

"Ah! Takuma Kichiru! Or should I call you by your old code name, TK? I haven't seen you for a while either! Still dancing along to the sounds of death?" he mocked

"You bastard…" TK said slowly, "YOU BASTARD!"

TK screamed and engaged in a hostile attack at The Creator. The man pulled out a black dagger and blocked TK's furious attacks.

"Otonashi! Shoot that guy!" Hinata said.

"I'm trying but I don't have a clear shot! I don't want to hit TK!"

"Still good, as always!" The creator taunted as the fight raged on. He was able to block or evade all of TK's punches. "But you're always. So. Damn. Predictable!"

The Creator punched TK in the gut, knocking him over. As he stood over TK with the dagger Otonashi shot the gun.

Time seemed to slow down. As he watched, The Programmer deflected the bullet with his knife. The Programmer pulled a revolver out of his pocket and fired.

He heard Kanade scream. Then all he saw was darkness.

* * *

Otonashi woke up in the infirmary. It was midmorning and light was just beginning to break over the Horizon. Kanade sat on the chair next to him, sleeping on his chest. _What... Happened? _Otonashi thought to himself. Then it all rushed back to him, The Programmer, TK's rage and getting shot.

He petted Kanade's head lightly. _Even while she's sleeping she's cute, _Otonashi thought. Kanade's eyes slowly began to flutter open in the morning daylight.

"Yuzuru!" she said sitting up, "You're awake! How do you feel?"

"A little bit dizzy, although I just got shot so I think I got off easy."

"Do you… remember everything?"

"Yea, If I lost some memories, I must not have lost all that many, I think I haven't forgotten anything important." Otonashi said furrowing his brow.

"You need to be more careful next time! You've been asleep for 3 days!"

"Heh, Sorry. I'll be more cautious next time."

Suddenly Kanade kissed Otonashi. He was surprised by it, but stayed in the kiss. After a few seconds the two pulled away from each other.

"I thought I lost you." Kanade said with tears in her eyes, "I thought you'd never wake up again, and I'd never hear your voice again."

'Don't worry," Otonashi said hugging her, "I'm here now."

* * *

"Tell me what you saw in the cave Otonashi."

Otonashi sat on one of the green couches in the SSS briefing room. Kanade sat next to him and Yurippe across. "Well, we were about here," he said pointing at a map on the table in front of him, "When we met with the creator."

"The creator. And he said his name was…"

"Akio Suke"

"Right, Akio Suke. And he said that you knew him Kanade?"

"Yes, although he doesn't seem all that familiar." She said.

"That's when TK started to attack him, right?" Yurippe asked.

"Yea," Otonashi said, "He started yelling at him, calling him a bastard and attacking wildly. I've never seen him like that before."

"Hmmm. This operation seems to have uncovered more questions than answers. It's also not helping that TK isn't answering any of our questions."

"Huh? Why not?" Otonashi asked.

"He's just sitting in his dorm room staring at the ceiling. He won't eat or drink anything we give him."

"I'll try talking to him." He said, getting up from the couch.

"Alright" Yurippe shrugged, "It's worth a shot. Kanade, you should go too, seems you're mixed up in this thing too."

"Okay," Kanade said, "C'mon Yuzuru, let's go!"

* * *

As Otonashi entered the room, he saw a motionless TK lying on his bed, his eyes wide open and bloodshot. On his bedside table were various packages of food and drinks. Otonashi walked over to his bedside with Kanade in tow.

"Hey TK, can you hear me?" Otonashi asked, "I wanted to ask you what happened in the cave. Why did you freak out like that?"

TK just stared blankly at the ceiling.

Otonashi sighed, staring at his lap, "What the hell is going on man..."

"The Lost Souls."

Otonashi picked his head up, "Huh? What was that TK?"

"The Lost Souls. The Lost Souls are back."

"The Lost Souls? Who are they? TK?"

TK was silent once again.

"The Lost Souls…" Kanade said, "That name sounds… familiar."

"Do you know what it means Kanade?"

"No, but… I recognize it from… somewhere… I don't know."

The two just stared at each other looking for answers as TK muttered one final thing.

"Hatsune…Otonashi…"

**~End of Chapter 6~**


	7. Chapter Seven: What's A Date?

**Note from the Author!**

**Another week has flown by! I got great reviews on my last chapter, especially the plot twist! Well my dear readers, the twists are just beginning! This chapter starts off exactly where the last one ended. The plot is really starting to shape up well, and I hope it continues to evolve. Without further ado, I present to you: Chapter Seven!**

* * *

**-{Chapter Seven: What's a date?}-**

Otonashi stared at TK in shock. "H-How… Do you know… That… That name?" He spoke slowly.

TK just stared at Otonashi with his unmoving bloodshot eyes.

"HOW DO YOU KNOW THAT NAME!" Otonashi yelled, grabbing TK by his collar and shoving his face into his. TK just kept staring off into the distance.

"Yuzuru! Calm down!" Kanade said pulling Otonashi away from TK holding him in a strong grip, "He's gone again!"

Otonashi stopped struggling and collapsed on the floor, gasping.

"A-Are you ok Yuzuru?"

"…I think so… sorry I freaked out like that. It's just when I heard her name after so long…"

"Hatsune Otonashi… She's your younger sister right?"

"…Yea." Otonashi said with surprise. "How'd you know that?"

Kanade blinked. "…I-I'm not sure… Lucky guess?"

Otonashi stared at her for a moment before getting off the ground. "We should go report what TK said to Yurippe. I'm sure she'll want to know what we found out."

Kanade just shrugged and followed Otonashi out of the dorm.

* * *

Otonashi and Kanade stood in the SSS HQ, reporting what TK had said to them although they left out the part about Otonashi's craze).

Yurippe listened to them attentively, jotting down a few notes on a pad of paper in front of her.

As the two finished their report, Yurippe sat back on her chair, thinking.

"It seems that your sister is mixed up in this whole mess Otonashi."

"Yea seems to be the case."

"Could you tell me a little about her?"

"Sure. She was 13 when she died. She was bedridden because of cancer when she was 11. She had red hair, like me and loved to read. She read a lot manga I bought at the store. She always had the dream of going to school and having friends. She… She's probably part of reason why I'm here in the first place…"

"… This sounds really familiar to me for some reason…" Kanade said.

"Huh?"

"I-I don't know why… but I feel as if… Someone had told me this already… a long time ago…"

"Hmmm…" Yurippe thought. "Could it be possible?"

"Huh? Could what be possible?"

"Could it be possible… That your sister could have come here after she died?"

Otonashi stared at her in shock, his body frozen . "I mean… i-it's possible…"

"Well from what you told me, it sounds like she fills out the prerequisites. She was a teenager when she died, it sounds like she didn't have much of a childhood and from what you told me, she wanted to have friends and have a normal childhood. Not to mention that people here recognize her, or at least the name. If that doesn't sound like a person who would come here, I don't know who would."

He just still stared at her, frozen in place. _Could… Could Hatsune have come here?_

Otonashi blinked and when he opened his eyes again he was on the ground with the two girls surrounding him. "Yuzuru! Are you okay?!" Kanade asked, her eyes filled with fear.

"Y-yea… I must have collapsed or something."

"Well, telling you that one of your dead relatives could have stood right where you are AFTER she died is a bit of a shock to the system." Yurippe said grinning.

"I guess so…" Otonashi responded getting on his feet, staring at the floor. "Hey, wait a second. If Hatsune WAS here does that mean-"

"She could be here now?" Kanade interjected, "Probably."

Otonashi was silent. He inhaled slowly and in long breaths. He shakily picked up his head. "I've got to find her."

"Don't worry we will but… not today." Yurippe said.

"Why not? We should start looking ASAP!"

"You're in no condition to go hunting down anyone. You just woke up a few hours ago and you've already collapsed twice!" Kanade said, her voice full of concern.

"I-I'm fine." Otonashi said taking a shaky step.

"No you're not." Yurippe said he voice booming. "As your commanding officer, I order you to take the day off."

"But-"

"No buts. Take the day off Otonashi. You're no help to anyone if you can barely stand up."

"…Fine."

"Don't worry Otonashi, I'll get the rest of the SSS on the hunt. If your sister is in the Afterlife, we _will _find her."

"Okay… Thanks Yurippe."

"No problem. Now go enjoy the rest of the day off," Yurippe said a smile crossing her lips, "You too Kanade. Enjoy a rest, you've earned it."

"Alright, thanks again Yurippe."

"Don't mention it! Now go! Daylight's fading!"

After the two had left the SSS HQ, Yurippe pulled out her radio. "Yusa? Are you there?"

The radio crackled, "I'm here Yurippe."

"I need you to bring Shiina to the HQ."

"Roger."

Yurippe reattached the radio to her waist. _If anyone knows about… before,_ Yurippe thought,_ it's her._

* * *

"So what do you want to do?" Kanade asked.

"Hmmmm… I dunno. I've never really had a day off before."

"True… You've always been doing SOMETHING with the SSS. Most of them involved you dying one way or another." Kanade said, earning her a small grin from Otonashi.

"Hey, I Know! We can go on a date!" Kanade exclaimed.

"W-What!?"

"Well, we never really went on one before, and almost no one knows we're together, we might as make it official. I'm sure no one would think it would be odd."

"True… Alright let's do it! It'll be fun!" Otonashi exclaimed.

"Great!" Kanade said with a grin. "Uhhh, by the way do you know how to have a date?"

"…No."

"Me neither…"

The two sighed in unison. "Okay, who do we know that can help us with this…"

As if there was some godly force listening to them, two figures came rushing around the corner. The smaller of the two was on top the larger one (who was screaming). The two figures raced past Otonashi and Kanade.

"Hinata?"

"Yui?"

"Hey guys!" Hinata yelled "Little help here?!"

After Otonashi and Kanade had pried the two apart, Otonashi asked "Hinata can you help Us with something?"

"Sure! What's up?"

"Can you help us plan a date?"

* * *

"So you two want to have an awesome date? I'll teach you!"

Otonashi and Kanade were in Hinata and Yui's dorm room, although calling it a dorm room was stretching it a bit. A better description would probably be dance club. In the small space the two had managed to put in strobe lights, huge speakers and a stage complete with a mic and guitar.

"Ummm… Quick question before we begin. Where the _HELL_ did you guys get this stuff?"

"I have a friend in the guild who… let's say owes me."

"…Blackmail?"

"…Yes…"

"Ok enough about that!" Yui Interjected "It's time to teach you two how to date."

Hinata pulled a poster covered in writing from the closet. "This is a three-step process. Are you two willing to go to extreme lengths to become masters of dating?"

"Uhhh, I guess so?" Kanade said with confusion.

"Alright! Step One! Find someone to go on a date with!"

Otonashi put his arm around Kanade. "Done."

"Step Two! Ask the person out on a date!"

"Hinata we already did this-" Otonashi said

"Do it again!"

"O-kay?" Kanade said, still clearly VERY confused, "Yuzuru will you go on a date with me?"

"Sure."

"Now for the final step!" Hinata exclaimed, striking a dramatic pose.

"…Which is?"

"Find out something you both would like to do together!"

Kanade and Otonashi stared at each other.

"Shooting?" Otonashi suggested

"No. Gardening?"

"Uh-uh. Training?"

"Nah. Studying?"

"Okay, guys let me stop you right there. Those are good but, uh-"

"They suck and they're boring" Yui interjected.

"Hey!" Otonashi said, annoyed, "At least they're not as weird as _SOME PEOPLE'S_ idea of fun!"

"In any case," Hinata said, giving Otonashi the evil eye, "There must be something you two enjoy doing together. You've probably already done it before!"

As Otonashi and Kanade looked at each other, an idea began to form in both their heads.

"Mapo Tofu!" they exclaimed together.

The two ran out of the room together Otonashi yelled back "Thanks Guys! We owe you one!"

After the two had left Yui turned to Hinata. "Three-Step process? It was basically only one step."

"Three-Step processes are cooler."

"You're such a moron."

"And that's why you love me." Hinata said giving Yui a kiss on the cheek.

* * *

"You're sure you don't remember anything?" Yurippe asked.

Shiina shook her head. "If I had any memories of Hatsune Otonashi or Akio Suke, they're gone now."

"Damn." Yurippe slammed her fist down on the desk. "I thought that telling you those names might have triggered something like TK."

"I'm sure that I was here before the rest of you, but I can't remember anything after the day I woke up in the cave and battled you guys.

"Alright thanks anyway Shiina. Try to see if you can get some of your memory back alright?"

"Understood" As Shiina turned toward the door to leave she suddenly stopped and looked at Yurippe again with a frown. "I-I think I just remembered something."

"Really?! What is it?"

"It's hazy, but, I remember sitting in the cave we fought in with a group around me. I- I can't remember the exact faces but I'm sure that one of the girls had red hair."

"Really? That sounds like Hatsune!"

"I-I also remember another one of them… Another girl... with white hair." Shiina's eyes were opened wide. She stood paralyzed, in shock of her own hazy memories.

"The other girl… It's Kanade."

* * *

Kanade and Otonashi sat down at their usual table with two heaping plates of Mapo Tofu.

"Let's Eat!"

As the two chowed down, Otonashi noticed that he was able to eat more than a few bites of it before he overheated.

"I think I'm getting used to the taste. It doesn't seem as spicy anymore."

"It was never all that spicy to me in the first place." Kanade said with a grin.

"It still amazes me that you can eat so much without burning your tongue off."

"I told you, I ate it a lot as a kid."

"Yea. Oh, you got a little on your face."

Kanade went to go wipe it away but Otonashi stopped her. "Let me." He picked up a napkin and wiped the sauce off her face. It was a simple gesture but it made her blush.

"Thanks."

"No problem. Besides you look cute when you blush." This only caused her to blush even more. "See, now you look _really_ cute."

Kanade giggled. "Thanks Yuzuru. You look great too."

"Am I as cute as you?"

"Yes, you are." Kanade said, laughing.

"Aww, Thanks!"

Suddenly Kanade leaned into Otonashi and kissed him, her warmth spreading through his body.

* * *

Kanade and Otonashi were walking to Kanade's dorm, arm in arm. They had talked for a while in the café and afterwards had danced outside the Gildemo practice room.

"Thanks for a fun night Yuzuru."

"My pleasure. I had a great time too."

"Yea, we should do this again sometime!"

"Count on it!"

The two had stopped in front of Kanade's dorm room.

"Well this is your stop."

"Yea." Kanade smiled. "One last kiss to end the night?"

Otonashi grinned, "Sure."

Otonashi leaned in to Kanade and kissed her. The two had kissed many times that afternoon and it always made Otonashi's chest feel warm.

"Well, night!" Otonashi said slow walking away from her.

"Yuzuru…"

"Huh? What's up Kanade? Your face is all red. Are you getting a fever?"

"Yuzuru… It's just that… It's so late already... and I was wondering…" Kanade's face blushed furiously, "I-If you wanted to… sleep here tonight."

Otonashi stared at her like she had grown a second head. "I-I mean if you don't want to-"

She was cut off by Otonashi's kiss. "Of course I'll stay here."

"Yuzuru!" Kanade said her voice filled with emotion, "I-I love you!"

"I love you too Kanade." Otonashi said with passion. "I want to spend an eternity with you."

**~End of Chapter 7~**


	8. Chapter Eight: Forest of the Past

Note from the Author!

Time for some more ReWritten, Chapter 8 style! The creator is brought back into the plot again with this chapter, and dang does it get crazy! Sorry the chapter is late. I had planned on releasing it yesterday, but I ended up having to go to the hospital and get my appendix taken out. Wasn't fun. Sorry for the lateness this may have caused and might cause in the future.

* * *

Chapter Eight: Forest of the Past

The girl sat near the fire, she wasn't shivering anymore. _Where did that guy- I mean Akio Suke go?_ She thought.

The past were definitely strange. She had woken up in front of some school. Almost immediately after, she met Akio. While she had no memory of him whatsoever, he seemed to know her. She had no idea who or where she was. She had hoped that he would give her some recollection of her past but whenever she asked; he always responded with, "I'm sure you'll remember eventually" And shrugged her off. The only reason why he had stuck with his so far was because she really had nowhere else to go.

As she sat near the fire thinking, she could hear footsteps echoing off the cavern walls. She took her knife out, preparing for the worst. Suke had told her about monsters that roamed the area. They looked human, but were evil creatures and they could only be killed for a short time. At first she didn't believe him till a few nights ago, when he returned to the camp, covered in blood and bruises.

As the footsteps got closer, she could see a figure approaching. "W-who's there?" she said, her voice trembling.

"It's Akio," Responded the figure.

The girl relaxed. She knew that she wouldn't be able to handle herself in a fight. She could barely hold the knife correctly.

As Akio got closer, it was obvious there was something troubling him. His usual calm demeanor was replaced with grimace.

"Akio? What's wrong?"

"We need to move. Now." He said sternly.

"Huh? What's going on?" she asked getting up.

"The monsters are looking for us. I've managed to take out the guards at the entrance of the cave, but we need to leave before they reawaken."

The girl was trembling, "W-where are we going to go?"

"There's an old base I used to use, out in the forest. The monsters don't know about it, so we should be safe there."

"O-Ok…"

"Don't worry," Akio said, giving the girl a small grin, "You'll be fine."

She wondered how much truth his words held.

* * *

Otonashi's eyes fluttered open. It was morning. Light filtered in through the window. Despite him just waking up, he was for some reason extremely tired. _What… What happened last night…?_ He thought to himself. When he glanced to his side he saw something he was not expecting to see.

Next to him lay Kanade curled up to him with her head on his chest. She breathed in steadily, her heart beating slowly.

What had happened rushed back to Otonashi. The date, the Mapo Tofu, Kanade asking him to stay with her, what happened after... All of it.

Otonashi watched as her eyes slowly opened. Kanade smiled at Otonashi.

She looked more beautiful now than she ever had before.

"Hey Kanade."

"Hey."

The two just stared at each other. No words, just silence filled with emotion.

There was a knock at the door. "Kanade?" A muffled voice said "Are you there? I'm coming in."

As Otonashi realized what was about to happen, he also happened to notice that neither of them were wearing clothes. "Kanade! Grab the blanket!"

As quick as humanly possible Kanade grabbed the covers and pulled it on top of the two of them. She managed to cover themselves just as Yurippe walked inside.

"Kanade, we're having a meeting. We need you down-" Yurippe froze as she noticed the picture that was displayed before her.

"Umm… Hi Yurippe." Otonashi said.

As her gears began to turn again, Yurippe's face turned red as a tomato. She quickly put her hand over her eyes.

"Just-Just get down to the HQ as soon as possible!"

"Roger."

"I never saw you." Yurippe then ran out of the room, her hand still covering her face.

"Well," Kanade sighed, "That's one way to start the morning."

* * *

"The Creator is somewhere on school campus."

The SSS members were inside the HQ. All the Main members were there, including Chaa and the Members of Gildemo.

"What! He left the cave?" Fukimaki exclaimed.

"That's right. This morning, the two guards we positioned at the cave entrance were killed." Yurippe said, "They had knife wounds on their bodies. It's likely he killed them so he could escape the cave."

"And now we have no idea where he is." Matsushita replied.

"Pretty Much." Yurippe said, shrugging.

"Well, that's not good." Hinata joked, which earned him a bop on the head from Yui.

"I propose a mission." Yurippe pressed a button on the desk. The Hologram popped up, showing a map of the campus. "Operation Vanguard. We'll split up into groups of two. Each group will be responsible for scouting a specific area. If you find anything, call us on your radio. Simple as that."

"So, what are the groups?" Ooyama asked.

"I was getting to that." Yurippe grumbled. "The groups are as follows: Yui and Hinata are to patrol the Track and Field area. Ooyama and Matsushita, you guys are guarding the area over by the baseball field and the tennis courts. Iwasawa and Chaa, you guys have the Dorm area. Otonashi and Kanade…" Yurippe hesitated, purposely looking in a different direction than the two of them. "Take the area over by the entrance, near the forest." She rattled off a few more groups and areas.

"Remember, if you find ANYTHING, call me on the radio. Operation: Start!"

* * *

"You notice she didn't look at either of us when she assigned us?"

"Yea," Kanade replied, "Do you think she probably put us out on the far reaches of the campus so she didn't have to look at us?"

"Probably, seems like something she'd do."

"Yea," Kanade laughed, "It does sound like Yurippe!"

"Still," Otonashi said, "I don't regret doing it. Not one bit."

"Me either!" Kanade said smiling, "It was nice to meet the morning with you."

"Yea it was. Till we got interrupted anyway."

The two continued to talk as they walked along their route. Unbeknownst to either of them, Shiina watched them from atop one of the buildings. She remembered the orders Yurippe had given her the day before.

_It's likely that The Creator is going to target Kanade specifically. If what you remembered is true, the programmer will try to kill them. Make sure you can see them at all times, and keep your hand on your sword. You may need it._

As Shiina brought herself back to the present, she continued to watch the two, making sure that there was no one near them.

_Kanade… Please be careful..._

As the two continued to patrol, they walked on the dirt path next to the forest.

Otonashi peered into the dark woods. "Hey Kanade, has anyone ever gone in the forest?"

"No, I don't think so…" she bit her lip, "Wait, maybe? I don't know."

"Huh? Are you okay Kanade?" Otonashi asked, furrowing his brow in concern.

"I-I thought that I remembered something but…" her voice trailed off.

"Don't worry. I'm sure that-" Otonashi had suddenly stopped talking, staring at the woods.

"Yuzuru? Did you see something?"

"Hold on a second." Otonashi walked over to one of the trees at the edge of the wood.

"Look at this." In the faded wood, the Initials 'SC' were engraved.

"This looks new." Kanade said, "It could have been made by the creator."

"There's another on that tree." Otonashi pointed at another engraving on a tree slightly further in the forest.

"C'mon! Let's see where they go." he said, racing off into the woods.

"Wait, Otonashi! Shouldn't we call…" her voice trailed off, she had no choice but to follow him into the forest.

* * *

The two continued to race through the trees. They weaved around many of them but Otonashi was hit by a branch in the face more than once. Eventually the trees became so dense that it was difficult to move through them.

"Are you sure this is a good Idea Yuzuru? Shouldn't we report to Yurippe?"

"I want to see where this path leads. If we find something, then we'll report back."

"Okay, so where do you think that…" her voice trailed off.

The two had reached a clearing, which was quite abnormal in the dense woods. But it wasn't the clearing that go the attention of the two. It was the log cabin. It was a simple dwelling. It was relatively small and only had one window and a door, but was astounding was that the Cabin was old.

It had to have been part of the Original World.

"Time to report in?" Kanade asked.

"Time to report."

Kanade pulled the radio from her pocket. "Hello, Yurippe come in. This is Kanade and Otonashi reporting in. Hello?" The radio responded only with static.

"Damn, we must be too far out to connect to the frequency."

"Maybe we should head back?"

"Yea, that probably sounds like a-" Otonashi stopped talking midsentence "Get down!"

The two crouched behind the bushes. "What did you see Otonashi? Did you see the creator?"

"I'm not sure, I saw someone through the window, although I didn't get a good look."

"Let's move a bit, see if we can get a better view."

The two army-crawled through the bushes. They crawled around the area till they had a good view of the window "There! I see someone!" Kanade pointed.

Otonashi looked inside the window and frowned. "Wait a minute… That's not the creator… That's-!"

Otonashi suddenly got up and sprinted to the house.

"Yuzuru! What are you doing?!" Kanade yelled, trying to unsuccessfully grab him.

Ignoring her, Otonashi grabbed the handle of the door and thrust it open.

"Hatsune!"

The startled girl looked at the figure in the doorway that had just called her name. She was momentarily blinded by the light. "M-Monster!" She screamed, pulling out her knife, "G-go away!"

"Hatsune! It's me! It's Otonashi."

"I-I don't know who you are! Leave!" Hatsune yelled, her eyes closed due to fright.

"Hatsune." Otonashi grabbed her wrists. Her eyes were still closed tight. "Look at me."

"N-no."

"Hatsune, look at me. Please."

Slowly she opened her eyes and looked at Otonashi. At that moment her memories flooded her brain, like a dam collapsing. They all rushed back to her so quickly she almost fell to the floor if Otonashi hadn't caught her. "It's alright… You're safe now." He repeated over and over, petting her hair.

"Y-Yuzuru… Is it really you?"

"Yes," he smiled, "It is.

"I remember… remember everything."

"Well isn't that good!"

Otonashi and Hatsune swiveled their heads to the voice looming from the doorway.

"Thank you for helping me Yuzuru." Said the creator holding Kanade in a vice grip and a gun to her head. "To thank you I'll kill you and Kanade quickly. Don't worry! I'll only do it a few million times!"

~End of Chapter 8~


	9. Chapter Nine: Remember Me

**Note from the Author!**

**First off I must apologize for not uploading a chapter last Monday. I was recovering from the surgery still and I never got a chance to plan or write anything. Hopefully I won't have to get surgery again for a LONG time. Moving on, this chapter is a very emotional one. I really liked the way this came out, even though it is somewhat short, although that was kind of the point. It jumps around a bit so make sure to pay attention! Angel's Storm, out!**

* * *

**-{Chapter Nine: Remember Me}-**

The pulling of a trigger. A loud bang. A flying bullet. Darkness.

In the split second before his death Otonashi only thought of one thing.

_Kanade_

Then everything faded to black.

* * *

When Otonashi awoke again he was in the caves again, although he couldn't tell exactly where. There was a small fire a few feet in front of him.

"This all started," Said a voice from the shadows, "Because of your own greed."

It was the voice of the creator. Otonashi tried to move his body but his arms and legs were chained down. The creator stepped from the shadows, the campfire creating a horrifying look on his face.

"She was gone, almost ready to begin a new life. I was happily an NPC. The others were moving on. YOU had to bring them back."

"They never wanted to leave in the first place!"

"Maybe not all of them. But you didn't give them a choice did you?"

"What are you talking about? They could've moved on if they wanted to."

"Could they? Did you see ANYONE disappear? I'm sure at least one person out of the entire SSS wanted to move on. But did they?"

"I-I…"

"No. They didn't. Do you know why?" The Creator said emotionless, "They couldn't. The way the code was created was very particular. The changes that you made completely disabled the leave function."

Otonashi was in shock. No one could leave the school of the dead. Ever.

"Kanade may still have had some of her skill from last time, but not enough to see the flaws in the changes that she made to the code. I guess she'll have to start from scratch again."

"Last time? What? What did you Kanade?"

"Maybe I'll tell you later." The creator said, pulling out a black dagger. "If you even remember this conversation."

Then he plunged the dagger into Otonashi's heart.

_Kanade_

* * *

"What did you do to Kanade!"

It had been several days since Otonashi was captured. He had been killed so many times that he couldn't even remember the exact number. He had also started to forget things like his old dorm room number.

"Still remember her, eh? Let me tell you a story before I kill you again." The Creator said.

"Once upon a time, there was a small group of people. They didn't know where they were or their pasts. They teamed up together and created The Spirit Crusaders. They vowed to discover the secrets of the world and find out their purpose."

"They had many grand adventures in this world, yes they did! They learned that they could make tools out of dirt and clay. They created a log cabin out in the woods and made it their headquarters. They slowly learned about the world that they had lived in. It was a paradise. They were all happy together. Till one of them disappeared."

"It was a sad day for the Spirit Crusaders. However one of them, the youngest boy was affected most of all. He had fallen in love with the girl who had left. He swore to himself that he wouldn't let anyone else feel the pain that he felt. He changed the world and made sure that no one else would remember him, the girl, or the spirit crusaders. Then he put himself into a deep sleep and waited for the girl to return. The End."

He plunged the dagger into Otonashi again.

_Kanade_

* * *

Yuzuru had since long forgotten how long he had been in the cave, how many times he had died. He had no idea who was torturing him and why. He couldn't even remember his last name. There was only one thing he could remember.

"Where's… Kanade…"

"I'm surprised you still remember her. I'm sure a few more killings will make you forget that."

The man with the blue hair took out a whip and began to mercilessly beat him with it.

"Forget her," He said, "Forget Kanade."

* * *

_Kanade_

The boy didn't know who he was or why he was chained up. He didn't know what he looked like or who the blue-haired person in front of him was he only knew one thing.

_Kanade_

It's the only thing he could remember. The white-haired girl he loved. It was the only thing he was certain of in his empty mind.

_Kanade_

"You still remember her, don't you?" the blue-haired boy in front of him scoffed.

The boy just nodded.

"You remind me of myself," he murmured to himself, "and that means there's only one way to forget her."

The blue haired boy stood up and pulled a small device out of his pocket. He began to type quickly on it. Soon the device chirped out, "Running Shadow Program, initializing…"

"It's fitting really," The blue-haired boy said, "That I turn you into an NPC, like I had been for so long."

Slowly small dark tendrils began to come up from the floor like smoke. As he watched the dark tendrils began to cover him. It was like he was being swallowed.

"Goodbye Otonashi." The blue-haired boy said as the tendrils completely covered him.

* * *

He was floating in a black sea of nothingness, a single white star above him. He felt nothing, and just floated along. He had no emotion, no feelings nothing at all.

_Kanade…_ He thought as he began to slowly sink into the murky water, _I don't want to leave you…_

His legs sunk, _I'll miss you…_

His arms, _I won't be able to hear you again…_

His body, _I don't want to leave you…_

His head slowly sunk underwater, the bright star dimming. _Kanade…_

His head was submerged. The water was still.

_I won't leave you!_

He pulled his arm out of the water and stuck it out. _I won't leave Kanade! _He pulled all head out, thrashing. The white star began to glow brighter and brighter, an image of her appearing in front of him.

"_**I Love you… Yuzuru!**"_ she said.

"_**I Love you Kanade!**"_ Otonashi yelled.

* * *

The cave came back into Otonashi's view, The Creator stood in front of him with a surprised look on his face. "What! How did you…"

Otonashi wasted no time on words. The chains on either side of him were gone, presumably destroyed by the shadow. He jumped up at the creator.

It was as if time had slowed down again. Otonashi grabbed the knife from the creator's hand and plunged it into his chest. He watched the light fade from his eyes as the blood dripped from his body.

As the body of the creator fell onto the floor Otonashi breathed a sigh of relief. He had regained his memories of what happened. He could remember all the times he had been beaten stabbed and shot. He didn't care about any of that. All he cared about was seeing Kanade again.

_Later…_

Otonashi walked out of the cave entrance, pulling the tied up body of The Creator behind him. As he walked down the hill toward the school he could see the sun rising in front of him, reminding him of the image of Kanade he had seen in the star. He could hear flapping of wings from birds.

_Wait a minute._ He thought, _there aren't any birds here._

"YUZURUUUU!" a voice called out.

As Otonashi looked above him, he could see a white-haired girl with silver wings flying over him.

"KANADE!"

He smiled as she circled around him to land. He was back. He could see Kanade. Everything was right with the world.

As she landed, he ran to her and hugged her as tight as he could. "Kanade… I missed you." Tears streamed down both their faces.

"I-I thought I lost you Yuzuru…" she choked out, "I thought I would never see you again!"

"Don't worry. I'm right here."

Kanade sobbed into his chest.

"I Love you Yuzuru!"

"I Love you Kanade!"

**~End of Chapter 9~**


	10. Chapter Ten: You Can't Change the Past

**Note from the Author!**

**Don't worry I'm not dead! I really do apologize for not uploading a chapter for a while. Last weekend was my birthday (17 now, same as Yuzuru!) and the week before that I had to help out with my school's musical production. Besides that I DID write this chapter. Only I hated the way it originally was so I changed it a lot as I went along. I think so far that this is my longest chapter, which is nice since I've been inactive for such a long time. Anyway, I hope you enjoy Chapter 10!**

* * *

**-{Chapter Ten: You Can't Change the Past}-**

It had been a week since Otonashi's return. It had been hectic week. Everyone was overjoyed at his return. He also explained to Yurippe and the others about how he had been tortured by the creator, although he left out the part about the broken world code. He was debating when to tell the others about it, but he had decided to keep it to himself until things died down. He had also reunited with his sister and told her what happened after she had died. She was happy to hear that her death motivated him to make something of his life. She also had learned that he had donated his heart to save Kanade's life, and she often joked "Most boyfriends give their girlfriends candy hearts. You gave her your actual one!"

Through all this craziness, Otonashi and Kanade had never left each other's side for even a single minute since he had returned. Whether it was Work duties, eating food or just sleeping, they were together through the whole thing. They often spent most of their late-night free time sitting on the roof and talking. Today was one of those days.

"Man, I can't believe how stubborn the creator is." Otonashi said.

"I wish the creator would go ahead and talk already. We haven't given him any food or water and he still hasn't budged."

"Yea, he must have a will of steel or something."

"I'm pretty sure it's a will of iron Yuzuru_._"

Otonashi laughed, "Maybe it is." He stared off into the Horizon.

The creator had been locked in the basement of the school, constantly under surveillance. He had said almost nothing, despite being threatened almost constantly. He only asked to speak to Hatsune, who Otonashi absolutely refused to let her do so. Otonashi had interrogated him a number of times so far to no avail.

"So much has happened since that day" Otonashi said.

"When you got captured or since you returned?" asked Kanade, "Either way, it's been crazy since."

A lot had happened in the past few days. With the creator being captured and TK returning to normal, there was no shortage of craziness.

"Actually I was thinking further back than that."

"The party?"

"Nope"

"The world reset?"

"Uh-uh."

"Well, what day are you asking about then?" Kanade asked, pouting.

"Since I got here. Remember? You stabbed me right in my heart."

"Well you did ask me to do it. Besides, your heart is right here." Kanade said, tapping her chest. "Don't worry its safe."

Otonashi laughed, "Yeah I guess it is." Otonashi's smile faded as he looked off into the setting sun. "But it's been crazy for long before that hasn't it?"

Kanade scooted over to Otonashi's side. "It has."

"Can you remember anything from back then?"

"Not really. I only remember bits and pieces, although everything's slowly coming back."

"Huh. Do you remember…him?"

Kanade was silent for a moment before responding. "A little bit. I do remember that he was here before I was, and he was a wiz with a computer. But I bet you already knew that, with him creating the shadow program."

Otonashi nodded while Kanade continued to talk. "He was the one who taught me how to use the world code. I remember that I helped to create the Angel player program, but I don't remember exactly how we did it. I know we manipulated the world code in some way…"

Otonashi stared at her as she talked. He hadn't mentioned anything to her about the broken code. _Maybe… it's the best time to bring it up…_

"Kanade…" Otonashi said softly.

"Yuzuru? What's the matter?"

"Kanade… The creator told me… he told me… the world code is…"

"Flawed?" Kanade said, her face sullen, "…I know…"

Otonashi's jaw dropped, "Y-you knew? Since when?"

"Since the reset." Her eyes began to water.

"But if you knew that the code was broken, then why did you make the changes?"

"It's just flawed, not broken. In order to remove the Shadow code, it was necessary to remove the leave and join functions. The creator must have written it like that in case we ever changed it." Tears began to fall from her eyes. "I-I didn't know how to fix it, and the AI was no help. I'm sure that the creator made him like that on purpose."

"W-why didn't you tell us Kanade?"

"I-I didn't want to change your m-mind," Kanade's voice trembled. Tears were streaming down her cheeks. "a-about staying here. Do you r-remember what I said when we reset the world? 'I don't want to lose anyone else' I didn't want to lose you, I didn't want to lose anyone ever again!"

Kanade sobbed into her hands. "I'm sorry for being so selfish! I'm sorry Yuzuru!"

She sat there sobbing for a moment. Then she felt Otonashi's arms wrap around her. "Y-Yuzuru?"

"I don't blame you Kanade. If I was in the same position I'm sure I would've done the same exact thing."

"Yuzuru…" Kanade sobbed into his chest.

"If anyone is to blame," Otonashi continued, "it's me. I was the one who started the whole thing in the first place. Besides, I'm sure that it was the right choice. Without it, we would have never been able to fall in love."

Kanade looked at Otonashi; he had tears in his eyes. "W-what do you mean?"

"The whole reason Yui left is because she fell in love with Hinata, fulfilling her in a sense. The code forcibly made her leave. If we didn't change the code, well… things could have turned out much differently."

Both their tears had stopped now. They just sat in each other's arms, silently staring at one another.

"I wish I knew how to fix the code. I lost most of my knowledge about it."

"Wait a minute, maybe we can fix it!"

"Huh? How, we lost the computer room on the world reset, remember?"

"When I was captured by the creator, he had a small handheld computer that he used to run a smaller version of the shadow program. If we can get that computer, maybe we'll be able to fix the world."

"Maybe… but even if we manage to get the computer from the creator, how are we going to change the world code? We don't have a copy of it."

"I believe that we," Said a voice.

"Can help you with that." Said another.

"Huh? Who's there? Show yourselves!"

Slowly two figures emerged from the shadows.

"TK?! Shiina?! Um, how much did you hear?"

"Basically everything." Shiina held up her hand, "Don't worry we won't tell Yurippe."

Otonashi sighed a breath of relief "Thanks, but how are you guys going to help us?"

"If you didn't figure this out already, Like Kanade, Hatsune and Akio AKA The Creator, Shiina and I are also former members of The Spirit Crusaders."

"Really? Did you guys lose your memories too?"

"Unfortunately, yes, we lost most of them" Shiina said, "But I recall a certain memory. I remember that you had created a copy of all the files you had created with Akio in case you messed up the world code. You had stored it on a flash drive and hid it somewhere near the log cabin."

"The log cabin? You mean where we found Hatsune?" Otonashi said.

"Yep, that's the place." TK responded, "The area is coded so the world reset won't effect it, so I'm sure that it's still there."

"Dang, how good of a coder is The Creator?"

"Definitely one of the best, probably second only to God himself. I mean if God exists anyway. He's has had years and years to practice."

"Well that solves the world code problem, but what about the computer?" Kanade said folding her arms, "We have no idea where it is."

"I've got an idea," Shiina said, "but you might not like it."

"What is it?" Otonashi asked.

"We let Hatsune talk to him."

"What!?" Otonashi exclaimed, "After what happened before? I'm not letting that guy anywhere near my sister!"

"Yuzuru, calm down." Kanade said, "Let them explain."

"…Fine."

"Y'know how Akio has been asking for Hatsune the entire week?" TK said, "He obviously wants to talk to her and he also seems to have a bit of a soft spot for her. I think that if she were to talk to him, she might be able to get him to tell us where the computer may be."

"Don't worry, we'll have guards around her the entire time in case he tries to hurt her."

Otonashi pondered for a moment. "I'll accept as long as I'm one of the guards, in case something bad happens."

"OK, sounds good." Shiina said

"I want to be one of the guards too." Kanade said.

"No. We need you to come with us to retrieve the drive. You're the only one who knows its actual location."

"But…"

"It's fine Kanade." Otonashi said, "We'll be able to get more done quicker this way."

"Yuzuru… are you sure?"

"Yes. Don't worry; We'll be fine.

"…okay…"

Otonashi nodded to TK, "We're on board."

"Alright, get some sleep, the plan begins tomorrow morning."

* * *

"I need you to tell me where the Computer is."

"I will only talk to Hatsune."

This had been going on for the past half hour, Otonashi kept asking him for the computer and he kept responding the same way over and over.

Otonashi sighed and banged his fist on the table in front of him. He had hoped to try and get the computer from him before resorting to have Hatsune talk to him. "Alright fine." Otonashi stood up from his chair and turned to the other guard on duty, Matsushita "Bring her in."

Hatsune slowly walked inside the makeshift holding cell. "Hello Akio" She said sitting down across from him.

"Hello Hatsune."

"So I've been told that there was a certain computer my brother needs that you have."

"Right to the point huh? Just like old times."

"What are you talking about?"

"You know the spirit crusaders and whatnot."

Hatsune sat up straighter when he said spirit crusaders.

"I haven't fully recovered my memories yet."

"Ah." Akio said dryly. "Do you remember me at all?"

She hesitated for a moment. "Not really, no."

The life disappeared from his eyes.

"Ah, that's a shame then." His voice sounded hollow like the AI he had modeled after himself.

"I was hoping you'd have a different response but…" He sighed, "I guess it's come to this…"

Otonashi stood up and put his hand on his gun holster, "Akio, What are you talking about?"

"I have nothing to live for anymore..." Akio moaned. He pulled out a square object from his pocket.

_The computer! _Otonashi took out his gun and pointed it at Akio's head. "Put down the computer!"

"I can't leave this place… May as well go out with a bang…"

Akio pressed a button on his computer as Otonashi pulled the trigger on his gun.

Nothing happened.

That was the problem.

The bullet flew straight through Akio and hit the wall behind him. "Wha-" Otonashi said.

"I know why you want this computer Otonashi. You want to reset the world again, make everything _better?"_ Akio said, his body slightly turning translucent.

"I know Kanade's gone to get the drive. But she won't be expecting the little surprise I have waiting for her on it."

"What? What are you doing Akio?! What did you do to the drive?!"

Akio smiled, his body was almost entirely invisible. "You'll find out soon enough. _This isn't the end Otonashi, it's only the beginning._"

His whole body disappeared.

"A teleportation code," Hatsune said, "I remember we used to use those a lot in the when I was in the…" Hatsune paused realizing that Otonashi was running out of the makeshift cell. "Hey, where you going?"

"I've got to get to Kanade before she finds the drive! Matsushita, get Yurippe and explain the situation." Matsushita nodded. "I want you to go with him Hatsune."

"But…"

"Just go!"

Otonashi didn't bother to check if she had listened to him. He rushed out of the building and ran towards the woods. _I'm coming Kanade, just hold on!_

* * *

After trekking through the woods for what seem like for hours, TK, Shiina and Kanade had reached the cabin again.

"Alright, the area isn't very large so we shouldn't have to search for a long time." TK said, "Want to look inside the cabin first?"

"Seems to be a good place to start as any." Shiina replied.

Kanade stood next to them. Something seemed off to her. _Why do I feel like something really bad is about to happen?_ She thought.

"Hey Kanade, you coming?" TK said standing in the frame of the door.

"Yea, I'm coming!" She said running up to him.

Inside the cabin was just like she remembered it the day the creator abducted Otonashi. "What should we look for?" She asked.

"Look for anything that seems familiar to you. Something out of the ordinary. It could be anything." Shiina responded.

Kanade looked over the small room; she looked over by the couch, the wood table, the refrigerator. None of it seemed all that special. Then her eyes caught a picture on the wall. It was a small photo in a simple metallic frame. She walked over to get a closer look at it.

It was a picture of The Spirit Crusaders. A group shot of them laughing. There was Kanade, Hatsune, Akio, TK and even Shiina had a big grin on her face. _I wish I could remember how it used to be_ She thought to herself. Although this picture had caught her eye for a reason.

The metal frame and picture were so out of place with the wooden objects, it could only mean one thing. It was where she had hidden the flash drive. She carefully took the photo off the wall and gingerly placed it on the ground. Behind it was a metal door with a latch on it. As she opened the door, there was a variety of items there. There were some pictures, a few folders and even a weapon or two. But that's not what she focused on. The flash drive was neatly placed on top of one of the folders. She grabbed it.

Her mind exploded.

Images flashed through her mind at light speed.

"Welcome to the Spirit Crusaders!-"

"Hopefully you won't die-"

"I learned how to manipulate-"

"My old life sucked-"

"Where is she?! Where is Hatsune?!-"

"It's all your fault!"

"All your fault!"

"**Your Fault!**"

"**YOUR FAULT!**"

Then came the pain.

It washed over her in giant surges. Her body flopped to the floor. She couldn't move; the pain was so great she couldn't even open her eyes. She felt fear beyond limit. She was going insane.

"_**YOUR FAULT!**__"_ Someone screamed in her ears "_**IT'S YOUR FAULT!"**_

She teetered on the edge of life, clinging to a quickly breaking string. Her pain and fear threatened to push her off into the darkness below.

"Y-Y-Yuzuru," she whimpered softly, "H-h-help…"

**~End of Chapter 10~**


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